This week’s Thrifty Finds: August 2018

Today (4 September) is the beginning of the school year and it’s time for me to get back into routine and post my recent Thrifty Finds. This is what we’ve been up to since our trip to London at the beginning of August (was it really a month ago?!):

1. We went on a short break to West Wales to visit friends who moved there last year. They have enough land for us to camp on BUT we forgot to bring our tent poles!! Thankfully they had a tent which we borrowed! We had a lovely break exploring the beautiful scenery of Cardigan Bay: an area that is completely new to us.

2. While there we did the obligatory scouring of charity shops (charity shops prices in Wales are a mere fraction of the ones we explored in London!). I picked up a dress for £3 and three champagne glasses for a grand total of 30p!!

3. For the first time I downloaded an audio book for free from our local library. When camping I find it uncomfortable to read at night so an audiobook is a good compromise. I ‘borrowed’ the latest Philip Pullman novel: ‘La Belle Sauvage’.

4. One thing I didn’t buy last month – despite trawling the charity shops – was a summer sun dress. I really thought I’d need it in the heatwave in London, and after we returned. However by the time we went to Wales the temperature had dropped and I’m glad I got by without.

5. However it can’t be said that I made ANY savings purchasing the girls’ school uniforms. At a total of £333 this was NOT a Thrifty Find! Most of this was spent on kitting out my middle daughter for her new secondary school (despite getting some things for free from a friend). This means I have used up our clothing budget for the next couple of months, partly due to bad planning on my part 😦

Thankfully I have been able to pay for a termly bus pass for two of my daughters as I had been saving for the past year.

Have you had to spend a small fortune buying back to school equipment an uniform?

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3 thoughts on “This week’s Thrifty Finds: August 2018”

Yes, I too have had to spend a small fortune on clothes and equipment for my daughter, as she’s started high school this year. The school does pay for a bundle, so we got a skirt, blazer, pack of shirts, a jumper and a tie in that. However, clearly, that wouldn’t be enough. And I’ve still got to purchase shin pads and football boots. Now, fingers crossed she doesn’t grow too quickly!

I’ve never been charity shopping in London but I have noticed the difference between some places and others. My daughter wants new stuff now, after an early childhood in secondhand clothes, which I do understand. At the same time, I found shorts for her at Leeds Community Clothing Exchange which she concedes are very comfortable 😊.

Hope your daughter has had a good start to Secondary School! I’m really hoping I don’t have to buy football boots etc although I think it was on the list… My daughters are generally embarassed if we take them into charity shops. The youngest will sometimes buy a book or toy but I can no longer buy clothes for them from secondhand shops. Saying that, the younger two love it if their big sister – or a friend – donate clothes to them, but maybe that’s ‘cooler’.